I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4297 

To impose certain requirements on the Secretary of the Treasury relating 

to transmittals of country-by-country reports for purposes of the Base 

Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 18, 2015 

Mr. BOUSTANY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To impose certain requirements on the Secretary of the 

Treasury relating to transmittals of country-by-country 

reports for purposes of the Base Erosion and Profit 

Shifting Action Plan. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. REQUIRED MEASURES RELATING TO TRANS4 MITTALS OF COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY RE5 PORTS AND MASTER FILE INFORMATION. 

6 (a) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary is expressly pro7 hibited from collecting from a United States person or 


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1 transmitting to any foreign jurisdiction any country-by2 country report information of any United States person 

3 with respect to taxable years beginning before January 1, 

4 2017. 

5 (b) SUSPENSION OF TRANSMITTAL OF CBCRS.—The 

6 Secretary shall suspend the transmittal of country-by7 country report information of any United States person 

8 to a foreign jurisdiction if the Secretary determines that 

9 the foreign jurisdiction is— 

10 (1) abusing master file documentation require11 ments; or 

12 (2) failing to safeguard the confidentiality of in13 formation required in the master file. 

14 (c) FACTORS IN DETERMINING ABUSE OF MASTER

15 FILE DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes 

16 of this section, a foreign jurisdiction is abusing master file 

17 documentation requirements if, in connection with the ad18 ministration of the transfer pricing documentation stand19 ards set forth in Action 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit 

20 Shifting Action plan, the foreign jurisdiction is seeking— 

21 (1) any trade, business, industrial, commercial 

22 or professional secret or trade process; 

23 (2) group consolidated financial statements that 

24 are not filed with the United States Securities and 

25 Exchange Commission; 


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1 (3) confidential communications between a cli2 ent and an attorney, solicitor or other admitted legal 

3 representative where such communications are— 

4 (A) produced for the purposes of seeking 

5 or providing legal advice, or 

6 (B) produced for the purposes of use in ex7 isting or contemplated legal proceedings; 

8 (4) information if the disclosure would be con9 trary to United States public policy (ordre public); 

10 or 

11 (5) information the Secretary otherwise deter12 mines to be inappropriate for purposes of this sec13 tion. 

14 (d) REPORTS.—Not later than January 31 of each 

15 calendar year, the Secretary shall furnish to the Com16 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa17 tives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the 

18 Joint Committee on Taxation a report on allegations or 

19 reports received concerning abuse of master file require20 ments, and any actions taken with respect to such allega21 tions, including— 

22 (1) the instances in the preceding calendar year 

23 the Secretary determined under subsection (b) the 

24 abuse of master file documentation requirements 


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1 and failures to safeguard the confidentiality of infor2 mation required in the master file, and 

3 (2) the nature of each such abuse or failure. 

4 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

5 (1) BASE EROSION AND PROFIT SHIFTING

6 PLAN.—The term ‘‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 

7 Action Plan’’, known as ‘‘BEPS’’, means the plan 

8 released by the Organization for Economic Coopera9 tion and Development. 

10 (2) COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REPORT.—The term 

11 ‘‘country-by-country report’’, known as ‘‘CbCR’’, 

12 means a report contemplated under Action Item 13 

13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan. 

14 (3) MASTER FILE.—The term ‘‘master file’’ 

15 means the documentation contemplated under Ac16 tion Item 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 

17 Action Plan and necessary to provide a high-level 

18 overview in order to place a United States person’s 

19 transfer pricing practices in their global economic, 

20 legal, financial, and tax context, in order to provide 

21 backdrop to country-by-country report data reported. 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary’s 

24 delegate. 

Æ 


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